Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-14
SINGING ANN0YANCES.
WAR OF THE INSECT WORLD
ON THE HUMAN RACE.

JeCbs OF Inelr 1nHlGAAOu,
BROOKLYN, March 13.-At the Taber
nacle this morning the Rev. Il. Dewitt
TalmaSe, D. D., eXpounded appropriate
passages OF Scripture. lie then gave out
the hymn beginning:
Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
And all the world go freep
No! there's cross for every one,
And there's cross for me-"
The subject of bis discourse was "Sting,
ing Annoyances," and his text. Deutero,
nomy VIII, 90: "The Lord thy God will
send the hornet" He said:
1t seems as If the insect world were deter
mined to war against the human race. 1t Is
every year attacking the grain fields and the
orchards and the vineyards. The Colorado
beetle, the Nebraska grass hopper, the New
jersey locust, the universal potato destroyer.
seem to carry ON the work which was begun
ages ago. when the insects buzzed out OF
oah's ark as the door was opened.
In my text the hornet Il es out on its mis-
sion. 1t is species OF wasp, swift in it's mo-
ton and violent in It's sting. It's touch is tor
ture to man or beast. We have all seen the
cattle run believing from the cut of its lancet.
In boyhood we used to stand cautiously look
ing at the glohnlar nest hung from the tree
branch, and while we were looking at the
wonderful pasteboard covering we were
struck with something that sent us shrekng
away. The hornet goes IN swarms. Ii has
captains over hundreds, and twenty of them
attacking one man Will produce certain
death. The Perslans attempted to conquer u
Christian city, but th3 elepnabts and the
beasts on which the Persians roae were
assaulted by the hornet, 30 that the whole
army was broken up and The besieged city
was rescued. This bnrning and noxIous in
sect stung out the HittiIes and Canaauites
from their country. What the cleaning
sword and chariot of war could moi accom-
ppf I'M n in.
The Lord eeutthe hornet.
My friends, when we are assaulted by be-
hem dthS OF trOuUte-greAt benemOths Of trou-
be-we become chivairIc, and we assault
them; we get IN the high mettled steed of
our courage, and ma Q "a cavalry charge a.
them, and, II God be with us. we come out
stronger and better than when we Went in.
But. alas for these insectiie annoyances of
life-these foes too small TO shoOt-these
things without any avoIriupois wright-the
2nat5 anu the mIdges, and the flies. and the
wasps, and the hOrnetsl In other words, it is
the small sting Dg anaoyances OF our life
which drive Us out and use us up. Into the
best conditioned life. Tor some grand and glo-
riOus purpose, God sends the hornet.
remark in the first place. that these small
singing aunoyances may come in the shane
OF sensitive, nervous organization. People
who are pro5trated under typhoid feyers 1r
with broken bones get plenty OF sympathy,
but who pIties anybody that is nervOuse Ihe
doctors say. and the family says, and eyery-
body says, ''Oh! she's only q little nervous:
that's all. The sound of a heavy foot, the
harsh clearing OF a throat, a dIscOrd In music,
want of harmony between the shawl and
the glove on the same person, curt answer
a passing slight, the wind from the east, any
one of ten thousand annOyances, opens the
door for the hornet. The fact Is
that the vast majority OF the peO-
pie in this country are over worked,
and their nerves are the first to give out. A
Nreat multitude are under the strain OF Ley
den, who, when he WAS told by his physician
that if lie did not stop working while he was
in such poor physical health he would die, re-
sp0nded, doctor, whether live or die the
wheel must keep going around.' Thee
persons of whom l speak have a bleeding
seDstiyeness. The flies love to light on any
thing raw, ana these people are like the
Canaanites spoken OF in this text or in the
c0nteXt-tbey have a very thin covering and
are vulnerable at all points. And the Lord
sent the hornet.
Again, these small insect annoyances may
come TO us in the shape OF friends and ac-
quaintance who are always saying disagree
able things. There are some people you can
not be with for half an hour but you feel
cneered and comforted. Then there are other
people you cannot be with for i've minutes
before you feel miserable. They do not mean
TO disturb you, but they sting you 10 the bone.
They gather up AL the yarn which the gos-
sips spin and peddle 1t. Tney gather up all
the adverse criticisms about your person.
about your business, about your home. about
your church, and they make your ear the fun
Hel lnlO WHICH tHcS pour IL. IUeE lduXn
heartily when they tell you, as though IL were
a good joke. and you laugh too-outsIde. These
people are brought to our attention in tie
Bible, in the bo0x of Ruth: Naomi went forth
beautiful aud with the finest OF worldly pros
poets into another land, but after awhile she
came back widowed, and sick. and poor. WHAT
did her friends do when she came back to the
cItyI They all went out, and, ms cad OF CIV
ing her common-sense consolaJlon, what did
they do? Read the book OF Ruth and dnd out.
They threw up their hands and said, ''Is this
NaJmiW as much as TO say, "How very
bad you iook" When 1 entered the
ministry / looked very pale for years,
and every year, ror iour or five years,
hundred times year, | was asked II | was
not in u consumption: And PASSING through
the room / would sometimes hear people sigh
and CRY. IA an! not long Tor tins worldw /
resolved in those times tnat j never, IN any
conversation, would say anything de pr essing.
and by the help of COD have kept the resO-
luton. These people OF whom ! speak reap
and bind in the great harvest field OF discour.
agement. Some days YOU greet Them with a
hilarious GOOD morning." and they come
buzzing at you with some depressing lnfornna-
ton. The Lord sent the hornet. IE Is aston
ishIng how some people prefer to write and
To say disagreeable things. That was tho
case when wears ago Henry M. stanley re-
turned atter his magnificent exploit OF ind
ing Or. David IiylnghJOne, and when MIR.
STANLEY stood before the savants OF Europe,
and many of the small critics of the day,
under pretense OF getting geographical in
formation, put to him most insolent ques-
tions, he folded his arms and refused to
answer. At the very time when you would
suppose all decent men would have
applauded the heroisn Of the man.
there were those to hiss. Tho Lord
sent the hornet. And when afterward that
man sat down on the western coast of Africa,
SICK and worn, perhaps, IN the grandest
achievement of the age In the way OF geo
graphical discovery, there were small critics
ali over the world to buzz and buzz, and
caricature and deride him, and when few
weeks after that he got the London papers,
as he opened them, out new the hornet
When see that there are 80 many people IN
the world who like to cay disagreeaole thiags,
and write dIsagreeable things, / come almost
In my weaker momepts TO believe what a IN an
said to me in Phlladelphla one Monday morn
ing, went to get the horse that was at the
livery, and the hostlcr, PLAIN man, said TO
me, "Ir. Talmsge. saw that you preached
TO the young men yesterday" said, Yes"
He said "No use, no use; man'b failure"
The small insect annoyances Of life some-
times come In the shape OF local physical
trouble, which does not amount TO positive
prosLration. but which boshcrs you wnen you
want to feel the best. Perhaps IT, Ia a sick
headache, which has beon the plague OF your
life, and you appoint some occasion OF mirth,
or soclaity. or usefulness, and when the clock
strikes the hour you cannot make your ap
iearance, Perhaps the trouble is between
The ear and the forehead, In the shape OF =
twinge. Nobody can see IL or SYM
pathize with you; bnt just ut the time when
you want your intellect clearest and your dis
position brightest, you feel sharp, keen.
disconcerting thrust. The Lord sent the hor-
net.
Perhaps these small insect annoyances will
come in the shape OF domestic irritation.
The parlor and the kitchen do not always
harmonze. 70 get good service and to keep
IN 10 one of the great an nation of the cOuntrV